The cargo holds of large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 typically have a cross-section having a central flat floor area and curved or angled sidewalls rising upwardly and outwardly from the side edges of the flat floor area to meet the outer sidewalls of the cargo hold. It is a difficulty when preparing unitised loads for loading into the cargo hold, that in order to utilise the full area available, it is necessary to support the upper part of the load in a cantilevered fashion above the sloping or curved sidewall portions of the hold profile. Various attempts have been made to provide shaped pallets which will support the upper portions of the load right out to the full width of the hold cross-section but such pallets have not always been succssful and have frequently sagged in use resulting in jamming of the load within the hold and difficulties in loading or unloading. There is also a move amongst international airfreight carriers to base their unitised loads on the cargo pallets which are designed to engage with the floor of the aircraft and it has not hitherto been possible to use such pallets and also to utilise the full width of the cargo hold area.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an aircraft loading method and apparatus which will obviate or minimise the foregoing disadvantages in a simple yet effective manner, or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.